“At their current state, can the Brooklyn Nets even secure a playoff berth?” Since Kevin Durant’s injury, they have been 2-7 despite having the services of James Harden and Kyrie Irving

With Joe Harris almost certainly out for the rest of the season, the Brooklyn Nets are in panic mode

Joe Harris’ last game for the Brooklyn Nets had come against the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which he severely sprained his ankle. What was thought to be a 2-week break to rehab turned into a 7-week long injury, which also had surgery squeezed in between. Steve Nash had a ready-made answer each time when asked about the injury update, “He’s two weeks away.”

While he was in the training camp doing light conditioning and warm-ups, there were never any serious practices or scrimmages he attended. His injury occurred to the same ankle he hurt in the bubble, hence the apprehension. The initial timeline has been stretched quite a bit, which means the roster has not had their sharpshooter for almost three months of the season.

The longest-serving Nets player is also their best 3 point marksman, shooting at an impressive 46% from beyond the arc. Those shots contributed to the initial stretch of Kevin Durant and co. used to propel themselves to the top of the conference. Now that Harris and Durant are out, the onus is all on James Harden and LaMarcus Aldridge to pull them out of the funk.

Also Read: “We, as a team, are not concerned!”: Nets’ James Harden talks about the team’s recent 6-game losing streak, after dropping a game against the Sacramento Kings

Luck is a cruel thing in this game – The Brooklyn Nets have had none of it in the past 9 games

Everything was going right for the Eastern conference table-toppers – until KD got injured. His injury could not have come at a more inopportune moment, since he was all set to take charge as captain of the All-Star game. Playing at what could possibly be at an MVP level, the Nets sorely miss his contributions.

They already did not have Kyrie Irving for such a long time, and still, get to play him sparingly. With an already thinned-out roster, the once table-toppers currently languish in 6th place. They are precariously perched in the final run into the playoffs. If they had any more injuries, or don’t win games pronto, they could drop below the 9th placed Celtics very quickly.

The East is so highly contested, that the 1st seed could drop out of the playoffs in the blink of an eye. This is why the Chicago Bulls have to be commended because they have had their roster ravaged by COVID and injuries too. There is no need to panic yet, but they have to be careful enough to not implode. It would be terrible for the overwhelming season favorites to drop out in such a meek fashion.

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